(no subject)

[outstandingbalance]

Who: Natasha Romanoff & You
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Marsiva
When: 6/24

Video

[Transmission starts at the same moment the woman laying in fram shifts from unconsciousness to tense stillness—her eyes open, darting, and she goes tense, but otherwise there's no movement from her for the first four or five seconds. That seems to be how long it takes her to process that she's in an unfamiliar space with no memory of how she came to be lying there. Then one hand balls consciously into a fist. Her eyes flutter. Jaw tightens.

Natasha takes a deep breath and forces her body to relax muscle by muscle.

Seems like spies don't make for great entertainment when they first wake up. Not unless you find tension and veiled suspicious looks riveting. The first minute or two isn't much more than that. She wakes up. She sits up. She swings her legs over the edge of her cot and stretches her back, trying to flex the adrenaline out of her muscles.

She looks directly into the camera at one point, her expression flat, lips tightening in a frown. She taps the edge of the lens experimentally.]

You know, if you're gonna kidnap a girl you could at least buy her dinner first.

[Her voice is just a touch to defiant to be neutral as she speaks.

Then she hauls herself to her feet. The last thing caught on camera before the broadcast ends is a shot of her catsuited figure walking away.]

Comments

[ video ]

[universal_charm]

I'm not the one who did the kidnapping, but I'll buy you the dinner, if you like - once you get off the Marsiva.

_{[ He's trying to be funny, lighten the mood, because he knows how much this sucks Natasha. ]}

[outstandingbalance]

[His offer gets a sort of semi-automatic smile, reflexive and not especially sincere. She appreciates the effort though.]

Is that so? I'm not going to wake up in a strange bed afterward, am I? 'Cause I've had enough of that for a little while.

[universal_charm]

No, thankfully they usually do that when you're awake. Though the ship you will be on is a surprise. As I'm sure you've guess, Atroma is not very big on consulting us about decisions concerning us.

video;

[unbearablynaive]

[For once, the Vision looks unreservedly happy. Yes, he's aware it's most likely not the same version of her that had been here before, and that there's an equally likely chance she doesn't even know who he is from back home - and yet it's good to see her nonetheless.]

You're welcome to dinner aboard my ship any time you should desire it, Agent Romanoff. Though I'm certainly not claiming responsibility.

[outstandingbalance]

Vision.

[In one word, she confirms that she does know him, but that she didn't expect to see him—she doesn't know anything about his time here. Or her own.]

I'll keep that in mind. Not exactly the point, but I'll keep it in mind...

What are you doing here?

[unbearablynaive]

[He relaxes minutely enough that most others wouldn't catch it, but this is Natasha after all.]

Believe it or not, I've been here approximately a year, playing along with their "reality show". Wanda's been here slightly longer, but other relatively new arrivals include Captain Rogers, Mr. Stark, and Sam Wilson.

We're quite popular, it seems.

text

[theboogieman]

[he doesn't respond with video--even though she would recognize him faster that way, he doesn't like flashing his skull-face all over the network if he doesn't have to. text it is, and the message comes in a little later than the initial reactions.]

do you remember being here before?

[outstandingbalance]

[There's a long pause before Natasha responds—for a moment, she considers not responding at all. What was she even supposed to say to that?

How did she respond without tipping her hand and revealing that she's missing something in the context here? The longer she waited, the less it seemed like she could ignore it entirely though.

Finally the answer:]

I think you have the wrong person

[theboogieman]

[well, that answers his question. halfway through writing his response, he realizes that this could be the one he knows pulling some sort of bizarre misdirection on him... but it seems very unlikely, and he's not clever enough to hold onto the idea for long.]

my mistake.

but if people say things like that a lot, don't be surprised. you might have had a doppelganger.

[video | encrypted]

[privatizes]

You're late. And on the wrong ship.

[ god, how inconvenient. natasha stuck on the marsiva while they're all collecting acorns. figures that she gets the luxury for a bit longer.

tony, himself, is in the captain's chair of the pathstone, fiddling with something. probably a piece of machinery that doesn't actually belong to him. ]

You alright?

[outstandingbalance]

[Thanks to Vision, Tony doesn't get the pleasure of being a surprise. At least not in any technical sense; intellectually Natasha knew he was here, and if she wasn't entirely prepared for it, she was pretty good at putting on a professional front.]

Sorry. Next time I'll try to be more prompt about getting kidnapped.

[She studies his face from behind her smile, considering the way he fidgets. Seems in character. He's not really the kind to sit still. That also means it doesn't tell her much about his actual state.]

Nothing broken. Missing a few things, but...

[A shrug.]

Suppose you tell me just what ship I should be on?

video

[experiencepoints]

Oh- Natasha? You're back? ... I'm not sure if I should welcome you back or just feel sorry you got put through this twice.

[She doesn't seem to have caught on that this might not be the same Natasha.]

[outstandingbalance]

[Natasha's jaw tightens briefly and she clears he throat, a gentle warning before she actually answers.]

I'm not sure welcoming me back would be appropriate.

Video

[pain_train]

Captain Romanoff! [Here, have a happy woman with bright pink hair.] It's so great to see you again, sir!

[She'll catch up to what's actually going on in a second.]

[outstandingbalance]

Captain? [That's news to her. Just how long was she here before, and what was she doing? The fact she was here before is slowly starting to sink in, the evidence weighing in more strongly by the moment.] Somehow, I doubt I'm going to be keeping that title.

[Her tone is bemused enough to get the point across, she doesn't really know what the other woman is talking about.]

video

[bryces_pup]

Because that requires a degree of manners and I assure you, Atroma has no such thing.

[Not even remotely.]

[outstandingbalance]

I have to say, the evidence backs you up on that.

[Not even the slightest argument on this end.]

video.

[paraclete]

[Appearing on the screen is a young man, mid to late teens, pale in a way that's infrequent among human beings, with a rarity of red eyes to boot. He looks, in fact, like he should be at least slathered in sunscreen, since his backdrop is a beach and the sun is quite bright. That's not what concerns him, though. Instead, he seems confused — pleasant, mild, but confused.]

Could you explain the correlation, please?

[outstandingbalance]

[Well. Looks like sassing the camera might have come back to bite her. This is what she gets for not considering who might be on the other side of the video feed.]

You mean between dinner and getting abducted?

audio »

[mucked]

[ aha! ms. romanoff -- peggy answers by voice only, reluctant to show her busted up and bruised face on the network. especially when 'first' meeting someone for the second time. the story of what the winter soldier did would not be a simple one to tell. ]

I'm afraid you'll find yourself rather disappointed with the quality of that dinner.

[outstandingbalance]

Today just keeps getting better.

[The response is sarcastic, but without much heat or focus. She's got the idea already that none of the people responding have much control over their situation. This reply has all he same cues.]

So did everyone see me waking up, or just the people looking?

Video

[passingthrough]

[Well, well. Welcome back former captain.]

And a good dinner. Nothing I have to call a protein gel.

[outstandingbalance]

[More of a warm welcome than she was expecting.]

Protein gel doesn't even start to make up for this.

video » i am not late

[uprightness]

[ he watches her for a moment but looks away until she speaks. it isn't his place to see, this is a private moment ruined by the cameras and he will not partake in it, will not invade her privacy even not when it is so easy. when she does speak, he will look back towards the screen, a small smile working its way as he nods his head, acknowledges her words and presence. ]

We can go once you're off the Marsiva.

not late at all!

[outstandingbalance]

[Of course Steve would be respectful, letting Natasha have her first tense moment or two of consciousness to herself.

Her lips compress in a thin smile when Steve pops up.]

Not exactly the answer I was expecting to get. I might hold you to it.